May Day will be celebrated with a regional rally in Diyarbakır (Amed), at Istasyon Square, under the slogan 'Towards a democratic society with the working class.' The rally, organized by the Diyarbakır Labour and Democracy Platform, will also see participation from surrounding cities.

Deniz Yurtsever, a member of the May Day Organizing Committee, told ANF that "May Day has become the central agenda for all labor organizations. There has been ongoing instability for many years, and over the last five years, this has manifested itself as an economic crisis. In the past five months, the atmosphere in Turkey has shifted. As a result, prospects for a peace process have begun to emerge. We shaped our approach with this peace process in mind. That is why our slogan this year is ‘Liberation of labor and building a democratic society.’"

Economic crisis deepens due to war

Yurtsever noted that the ongoing war has caused the economic crisis in Turkey to grow and spread, and added: "There has been a state of conflict in this country for forty years. A significant portion of the national budget has been allocated to war. Even those in power have now acknowledged that war is not a solution. If workers and laborers truly want a share of the economy, this war must end. The funds allocated to war must be redirected toward society, toward the public sphere. That is why we will be in the streets with these demands. The peace process must be strengthened and made concrete. As laborers, advancing peace will also empower our own demands."

We call on all workers to join us in the streets

Yurtsever said that they will celebrate International Workers’ Day at Istasyon Square in Diyarbakır and added: "Today, we know and see that the poverty line has risen above 80,000 Turkish lira, while the hunger line has exceeded 30,000 Turkish lira. We are witnessing this reality on the ground every day. The fundamental demand of workers and labourers today is to earn a wage they can actually live on. We want to ease the exploitation of labour and see the economic crisis brought under control. Without doubt, workers and labourers will take to the streets with these demands. For such demands to be met, the country must first achieve a degree of democratic maturity. We have accelerated our preparations for May Day, and we invite all workers and labourers to join us in the square."